Glitz and Glam of the 70th Cannes Film Festival

Actress Uma Thurman poses for photographers upon arrival at the opening ceremony and the screening of the film Ismael's Ghosts. -AP

Model Bella Hadid poses for photographers upon arrival at the opening ceremony and the screening of the film Ismael's Ghosts.-AP

Jury members Jessica Chastain, left, and Will Smith pose for photographers upon arrival at the opening ceremony and the screening of the film Ismael's Ghosts at the 70th international film festival, Cannes.-AP

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CANNES, France (AP)

The 70th Cannes Film Festival opened Wednesday under the lights of Cote D'Azur sunshine and high-wattage stars such as Will Smith and Marion Cotillard. But a brewing storm over Netflix's place at the world's most prestigious film festival clouded the event as Cannes rolled out the red carpet.

Optimism is high at this year's Cannes, which features a line-up widely considered to be well-stocked with heavyweight filmmakers, including Todd Haynes ("Wonderstruck"), Sofia Coppola ("The Beguiled"), Michael Haneke ("Happy End") and Lynne Ramsay ("You Were Never Really Here"). Rancour and controversy nonetheless dogged the festival's preamble, as well as its opening day.

In photo: Actress Uma Thurman poses for photographers upon arrival at the opening ceremony and the screening of the film Ismael's Ghosts. -AP

During the opening ceremony Wednesday, Iranian director Asghar Farhadi helped set a welcoming tone for the festival, calling it a "place where cultures speak to one another." Farhadi's presence in Cannes sharply contrasted with February's Academy Awards ceremony, which the filmmaker (whose "The Salesman" won best foreign language film) boycotted to protest President Donald Trump's proposed travel ban on visitors from several predominantly Muslim nations.

But while Cannes maintained its status as an international melting pot, definitions of what qualifies as cinema continued to stir debate. For the first time, Cannes selected two Netflix releases — Bong Joon-ho's "Okja" and Noah Baumbach's "The Meyerowitz Stories" — for its Palme d'Or competition.

French theatres, which have strict rules regarding streaming service films, rebelled at the thought of a movie that won't play on the big screen winning the Palme d'Or — the biggest award in film next to an Oscar, and to some, even more important. The festival relented and next year won't accept streaming-only films in the competition.

Earlier Wednesday, Pedro Almodóvar, who's presiding over this year's competition jury, read a lengthy statement in which he said, "I personally cannot conceive of not only the Palme d'Or, but any other prize, being given to a film, and then being unable to see this film on a large screen."

Coming from the head of the jury that will decide the award, the comment was striking.

In photo: Jury members Jessica Chastain, left, and Will Smith pose for photographers upon arrival at the opening ceremony and the screening of the film Ismael's Ghosts at the 70th international film festival, Cannes.-AP

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Will Smith, a member of the jury that also includes Jessica Chastain, Paolo Sorrentino and Park Chan-wook, stuck up for Netflix. Later this year, Netflix will debut one of its biggest-budget films yet, the $90 million fantasy thriller "Bright," in which Smith stars.

"In my house, Netflix has been nothing but an absolute benefit," Smith said of his children's viewing habits. "They get to see films they absolutely wouldn't have seen. Netflix brings a great connectivity. There are movies that are not on a screen within 8,000 miles of them. They get to find those artists."

Smith, who has not had a film play at Cannes before, was dressed dapperly and posing cheerfully with festivalgoers screaming "Will! Will!"

"West Philadelphia is a long way from Cannes," joked an enthusiastic Smith, referring to his hometown.

Security was greater than ever at the French festival, which has stepped up efforts to restrict access, added more metal detectors and even introduced an anti-drone system. France has been under a state of emergency since the November 2015 Paris attacks. This is also the first festival held since the truck attack in nearby Nice killed 86 people last June.

On Wednesday, the heightened measures were already causing something unthinkable at the stringently clockwork Cannes: slight delays at screenings and press conferences. Festival organisers have said everything was being done to maintain safety and the event's celebratory atmosphere.